The ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel Is Rumored to Be Casting Two Badass Women Leads
Let the fan-casting begin!
Word on the street is that casting has officially begun for House of the Dragon, the Targaryen-centric prequel to Game of Thrones. Ten episodes of the new show have already been picked up by HBO, and the series was originally thought to air on HBO Max this year. But, a little thing called coronavirus put the project, which was already moving slowly, on hold—until now.
House of the Dragon is set in the George R.R. Martin world of Westeros, 300 years before Thrones took place. So while it won’t feature any of the characters you’ve grown to know and love, it will center on the Targaryen family line, so you’ll be somewhat familiar with the icy blonde-haired cast of characters.
The series is based on Martin’s novel Fire & Blood, which chronicles the history of the Targaryen family and reign over a 150-year period.
In the book, Martin introduced readers to a plethora of Targaryen family members sometimes mentioned in the Song of Ice and Fire universe, including King Viserys I, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, and her brother Aegon II Targaryen, who started the civil war known as the Dance of Dragons.
As of right now, rumors state that HBO is looking to nail down actresses to play Rhaenyra, who should be in her late 20s, according to Fansided, and Alicent Hightower, who is Viserys’ second wife and stepmother to Rhaenyra, who also has three children of her own with the king.
According to Entertainment Weekly, casting for House of the Dragon has started, however, no firm casting breakdowns have been released yet. The show already has two showrunners, Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik, who headed action-packed Thrones episodes “The Battle of the Bastards” and “The Winds of Winter.”
Many fans on forums and social media believe that House of the Dragon may take a page from Game of Thrones’ book and cast lesser-known actors in the lead roles. However, a scrapped Thrones prequel pilot shot for HBO starred Naomi Watts, so we suppose anyone is fair game.
You still have time to read Fire & Blood to learn more about the Targaryens before House of the Dragon hits the small screen. And Thrones fans still have time to fully recover from that…uh, much talked about final season.
